The NFL playoffs continue to run their course with the conference championship games coming up this weekend and the National Championship is once again coming home to Ohio with The Ohio State Buckeyes finishing off an impressive four-game playoff run.

For the Cleveland Browns, it has been about next year for a while now. OC Ken Dorsey is out, OC Tommy Rees is in. A new offensive line coach and a return to a version of HC Kevin Stefanski’s system all reset the offense. What else will change on that side of the ball?

Oh yeah, Deshaun Watson is likely out for the year and likely seen the end of his career with the Browns.

Gathering information from people connected to the team and around the NFL since before the season ended, Cleveland has laid some plans out in front of them. “The best-laid plans…” are all well in good but the Browns don’t control everything which means they need backup plans.

Here are a few things I’ve heard from sources inside the team and around the league. More information and rumors will come as we head to Indianapolis in late February (as you can read from Day 1 and Day 2 last year):

• The running back room needs some revamping but not high-level investment
• Need to add depth at tight end
• Feel good about the receiver group overall but always willing to add
• Dawand Jones is expected to start at left tackle unless something opens up that makes more sense
• Jack Conklin could get the Nick Chubb treatment (new contract with much lower base, incentives) because he has no guaranteed money on his deal which gives the team a lot of control
• A simple return to Stefanski’s offense is not the goal. Instead, having that as a base with more flexibility and creativity brought in by Rees and even some of what they learned from Dorsey is the overall plan. Less predictability
• The current hope is to bring in two quarterbacks, one veteran and one in the draft. The veteran addition won’t directly impact what they do with the second-overall pick but they will be thoughtful about marrying the two together in 2025.
• Besides Cousins, Cleveland believes either Geno Smith and/or Derek Carr could be made available this offseason
• Aaron Rodgers is not currently considered an option but anything could change as free agency ramps up
• Jacoby Brissett, not Joe Flacco, is seen as the top target if the Browns can’t acquire a starting-level veteran
• A Flacco return is not off the board but, like Brissett, would not be with the plan for him to start
• Sam Darnold is seen as an unrealistic get despite the two-game struggle at the end of the season dropping his contract value with some questioning whether his upside is worth the contract he will receive
• Some around the league wonder if Jimmy Garoppolo could be a step above Brissett and Flacco but a step below Cousins and Carr (around the same level as Smith) among veteran QB options for Cleveland
• Stefanski is nowhere near ready to rank the college QBs and Rees will have a lot of say there but Cam Ward, Shedeur Sanders and Jalen Milroe are all seen as options early (maybe not with the 2nd pick for Milroe)
• As of now, what Deion Sanders wants for his son does not play a role in their evaluation nor do they care
• Watching the physically gifted Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts and Jayden Daniels (Patrick Mahomes isn’t the athlete of those three) make the conference title game isn’t lost on the Browns brass. Milroe is seen as the top athlete (who is also a great student and hard worker) at the top of this year’s QB class
• Cleveland will not force selecting a quarterback early just because they have the second pick, the top pick in the second round and a couple of extra picks to move around with but place a high value on the position which will push quarterbacks up

Those are the early takeaways from everything I am hearing at this point. As always, a lot of things change as the offseason goes along with the NFL combine starting the process for many teams in understanding what other teams might do and getting a chance to spend time with draft prospects.

As is true every year, I plan to have more information while at the NFL combine at the end of February when I can get face-to-face with some of the people I’ve connected with over the last decade-plus of attending in Indianapolis